


His Second Heart

by DarthTella



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurities, Romance, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-15 08:58:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17525702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarthTella/pseuds/DarthTella
Summary: The Doctor just couldn't get used to now only having one heart.





	His Second Heart

It would happen during the most quiet moments. He didn’t really have time to think about it when he was busy, and it wasn’t often that he stood still. But he was finding that life on the slow path was full of quiet moments. The Doctor was trying his best to integrate them into his now part human life. It wasn’t so bad when Rose was with him. “Better with two.” That was their motto. But today Rose had been roped into a shopping trip with her mum, and of course the he didn’t want to go. Last time he was in a shop with Jackie it had been an exhausting and somewhat embarrassing affair, so he vowed that he would never do that again.

So, he tucked himself away into a small corner of the flat he shared with Rose. He had acquired a large amount of books and his little library was quickly growing. The Doctor was eager to find out the differences between literature from this universe and the one he came from. He’d have to get a new bookshelf soon. Rose almost tripped over his Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe that morning.

He was just starting to read act two of Hamlet when it suddenly happened again, the sudden and sharp realisation that the right side of his chest felt hollow. The Doctor tossed his book aside and stood up, pacing the length of the room and absently scratching and tapping at the right side of his chest. He didn’t notice that it had become a somewhat nervous tick, like how he would ruffle his hair when agitated.

The Doctor, while he still mourned the temporary loss of his TARDIS, was content to live in this universe as long as Rose Tyler was by his side. He could even deal with being partially human. He just couldn’t shake the feeling that he lost part of himself ever since he noticed this body only had one heart. It had always been there from the day he was born, two hearts beating steadily in his chest. Occasionally one had stopped, and it caused him crippling pain until it was restarted again. Now he had the unsettling feeling of only one heart beating, but no pain. 

He never told Rose about this of course. When she asked how it felt for him now, he replied with: “Just... different.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. It didn’t stop him from feeling guilty about it though.

Still he paced, his fingers tapping a staccato rhythm against his chest interspersed with bouts of furious scratching. It was a poor substitute for the real thing but he just felt there should be some sensation there. It just felt so wrong otherwise.

He turned to stalk up the other side of the room but stopped short. Rose was standing in the doorway. He startled, shoving his hands in his pockets as if she had caught him doing some forbidden act. He was obsessing so much he didn’t hear her return home.

“You okay?” She asked. He shot her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

“Yup. Yes! Fine and dandy! Molto bene!” He rocked back and forth on his heels, his smile just a touch too wide and his eyes displaying more mania than usual. Rose shook her head at him. He should have known better than try to fool her. She stepped up to him, eyeing the front of his t-shirt. He looked down. He didn’t realise that all his tapping and scratching had left a bit of a mark on it. There was even a small hole forming. He sighed loudly. This was one of his favourite shirts, the burgandy one he nicked from the TARDIS.

She went to place her hand over it, and he flinched away from her touch. That startled even him. He never backed away from her before! Not like this. He knew she would never purposely do something to hurt him.

“Doctor?” Her voice sounded hurt and confused. He hung his head in shame.

“Rose. I…” Words failed him in that moment. Rose stepped close to him again, and this time he made no move to stop her. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she pressed a lingering kiss to the right side of his chest.

“You miss it, don’t you? Your heart.” She asked gently.

“Yes.” He replied simply. Leave it to his Rose to suss out the truth. He pulled her close to him in a tight hug. “It just feels so wrong.”

“But you know, you still have two hearts. As do I.” Rose smiled up at him. He stepped back from her, his eyebrow raised in confusion. He knew how human anatomy worked. He could now even say he had first hand experience on the subject and it wasn’t half as bad as he imagined it to be. But he had a feeling that wasn’t what she meant. She took his wrist gently and pressed his hand to her chest so he could feel the steady beat of her heart against his palm.

“This one’s yours, has been since ‘run’.” She breathed letting go of his wrist so she could press her hand over his heart. “And this one’s mine. I stole it a long time ago.”

“Rose.” He sighed, laughing at her cheekiness. “Oh, my Rose Tyler.” He brushed his knuckles against her cheek. “How do you always know just what to say?”

“I’m just that good.” She shot him his favourite tongue touched grin. He leaned in, nuzzling his nose against hers in a butterfly kiss.

“That you are.” He chuckled low in his throat.

“Doctor, you needn’t be worried about how different you are now. You’ll always be my Doctor, and I love you just the way you are.”

He swallowed hard. What in Rassilon’s name did he do to deserve her love? He didn’t allow himself to fall into another pit of self-doubt. Not when he was standing in the arms of the woman he loved. 

“Even when I get all old and wrinkly and have to be spoon fed mashed bananas?” He winked at her.

Rose sucked in air through her teeth, and seemed to ponder his question for a moment.

“Maybe.” She shrugged, her smile betraying her non-committal answer.

“That’s good enough for me.” He decided before sealing his lips over hers.


End file.
